8 Job Search Mistakes You’re Making!

Working abroad is a dream countless individuals aspire towards. Finding the right circumstances and the appropriate role internationally, however, is not the easiest objective to achieve. It is made more difficult by the poor choices and tactics taken by the job searchers themselves. Uncover some of subtle and common mistakes made by the majority of job hunters, and discover how you can correct these faux pas. By avoiding these missteps, you increase your chances of acquiring your new occupation abroad.

8 Job Search Mistakes You’re Probably Making…

1. Playing the Jack-of-all trades angle

In contemporary business, companies are looking for specialists, not generalists. Develop a professional brand that distinguishes your skills and strengths; design your job search around these specific traits and functions. This will also give you a clear view on what fields and industries to direct your efforts to.

2. Spending all of your time applying to jobs

More than 60% of successful job searches are the result of networking, not job applications. Resist spending more time just applying to jobs. Your time could be better spent communicating with others on professional networks such as Linkedin or by attending networking events that can be easily found through sites like Meetup.com.

3. Building wordy resumes

The majority of employers don’t read resumes in a traditional sense. Rather, they scan them in passing. Put your resume on a “word diet” and eliminate the unnecessary. Typically, you can eliminate up to a third of the words without compromising the core content. Remove extraneous words and phrases, as well as generic references. The key is to bring your experiences and accomplishments to the forefront.

4. Omitting accomplishments from your resume

Don’t just list your duties on your resume. Talk about your accomplishments and professional successes. It is even better if you can quantify them. For example, don’t just say, “Designed logistical operations program” instead, say “Developed system that reduced order entry processing time by 19%.”

5. You don’t have an online presence.

While you shouldn’t spend all of your time searching for jobs online, this does not mean you should not have an online presence. Many hiring authorities will want to research your candidacy past the resume and an online search is one of the best ways to do this. If they cannot find out, they are less likely to consider the validity of your credentials.

Make it easy for them to find you by creating a customised online identity. Some of the best tools to consider using are social media networks. LinkedIn, in particular, is an incredible tool to demonstrate your professional brand.

Similar to your resume, don’t be too verbose with a thank-you note after an interview. Sending out a lengthy response can come across as desperate and needy for the position. On the contrary, sending a one or two sentence thank-you note can come across as cheeky, ill-prepared and indifference regarding the job to the employer. Try to keep thank-you notes in the length of four to eight sentences.

7. Including too much work history

Many job seekers think that they have to take their work history back to their first job out of university. For well-seasoned professionals, this can lead to far too much irrelevant information to deliver to your employer. All that is needed is the last ten to fifteen years of your work history.

8. You don’t check your references

Many job seekers haphazardly use names as references. They do not take the effort to check that these individuals will be willing to positively vouch for their qualities and character. On many occasions, candidates give out references that were never checked with. The feedback from these references isn’t always helpful to the job hunter. Make the effort to pre-screen the references you provide.

Make sure your professional profiles are strong enough to present to your connections when you do finally connect with them. Upload your CV to TeleportMyJob and you can receive a free CV appraisal and LinkedIn Profile appraisal.